Chuckle. Harkins falls all the way to #47 and Jets say 'yes, please'. Surreal. Most were talking of him being a first rounder and many Jets fans would have been happy with him at #25 oa. Not quite sure about the remainder of the picks, but those first three? Oh hell yeah. Chevy likes his 'Mericans.

Really enjoyed the first round of the draft, watched the whole thing. Some nice surprises, quite an exciting day. Quite pleased to not be a Bruins fan, but have to say thanks to their group because no way did I see Kyle Connor falling to the Jets at #17 Naturally Chevy turns around at #25 and has me going so it's pretty much a perfect Jets first round. Honestly I'd have taken Juulsen, Larsson, Beauvillier, Konecny or Kylington ahead of Roslovic but the Jets have drafted well so I'll trust them on this one.

Was very surprised the Wild took Eriksson Ek instead of White. I really liked White and thought he was seriously undervalued due to injuries and illness this year. Was hoping he'd fall to 25.

I don't think anyone wants to leave Chicago right now, be it Saad or someone else. But a couple of all-stars and 21 million tied up in two players under a $71 million salary cap says guys are going to have to move, like it or not. Saad is an RFA, the Hawks don't have to pay him THAT much really. But if they don't, he's likely to walk once he reaches UFA, winning team or not.

Loyalty is a dead concept. The "home town discount" is going to amount to far less than $1 million/year difference. Rest assured if he gets a bridge deal at $2.5 or so, it'll be harder to sign him after that two beyond his two remaining RFA years. Every team in the league wants Saad. While I don't think anyone will offer sheet him with a ridiculous offer because of the compensation associated with high end deals, it still might happen. But an unsatisfactory deal, economic reality be damned, isn't going to sit well if the Leafs come calling two years down the road offering $6/7 million per. Chicago just can't afford that.

Toews+Kane+Hossa+Shaw+Seabrook+Keith+Hjalmarsson+Crawford = nearly $50 million dollars in salary next year. It's going to be hard to move Bickell, but easy to move Sharp. But even discounting those two if they're moved, you've got 8 guys on a 23 man roster making $50 million. Teravainen is a bargain, but if you don't get much for Bickell or Sharp or Oduya (well you won't get anything here because he's UFA but it'll leave a big hole) or Versteeg in return, it won't be quite as pretty. As it currently shows, Chicago has $7 million in cap space and 10 guys unsigned. Eep!

Again, great organization right now. Really run well, some absolute top end talent spread throughout the positions. Don't think you could find a guy that wouldn't want to go there. Oh, oh. Salary Cap.

I'm kinda feeling Bickell will be on your bench come September. Exactly what would you move him for? Of course with the obvious relationship between the Hawks and Jets management, we might end up with him

Ok, now you've become delusional. Dubnyk is playing very, very well. But the wheels may fall off sooner than you'd like. It may not be until next year, but the Vezina and Hart trophies are year long trophies, not last third of the season stuff. Even still, I'd say Price is ahead in both.

How about that. Plus the Ted Lindsay. And the Jennings.

What I said I said not because Dubnyk wasn't stellar, I said it as much because Price was having a better season for a longer period of time plus I think the Wild overall are a better hockey team than the Canadiens. Better balance front to back, better mix of age and youth, probably better management at the moment and less headache-y players too. So I think Price had less to work with maybe.

Is this even the right thread? I've no idea any more what these things are supposed to be called. But that said, HTS.com has the latest wave of figures available so I picked up the classic Vulture and Doc Ock plus Shanna. The rest of the wave - ultimate Spiderman (?) and armored (?) Daredevil were up as well, but no interest from me. Get 'em while you can.

I'm old enough to more remember Lee from the Hammer movies though he was fantastic as Dooku (as could be, given the circumstances) and Saruman. Sad to see him go but that's how you live a full life. Well done Christopher, well done.

I just picture Stamkos and his Agent, rolling into Steve Yzerman's office with the Stanley Cup, copies of Toews/Kane's 8 yr, $84mil contracts, and saying "your move" while Toronto sits with Babcock behind the wheel of a Brinks truck parked outside Stamkos' house.

Hawks better win this year because that pair of contracts is likely to cripple them for some time. Players are likely to vote for the escalator but you have to think the Hawks thought the salary cap would be higher than $71 million when they went ahead and signed those deals.

I don't even know what to suggest the right amount for Stamkos would be, but I'll guess less than Toews/Kane got. I'll also guess Tampa will hold onto him somehow.

And the greatest trophy in the world once again stays in the only country that can support it's sport.

How funny would it be if Tampa Bay had two cups since the last time Canada had won?

You might want to look at where the revenue keeping many of teams afloat in "the only country that can support it's sport" is coming from before uttering jackass nonsense like that.

Of course this is from a country who's elite military was so bright back in the 1990s and so bitter about a Canadian franchise being in the World Series, let alone winning it that they flew the Canadian flag upside down.

Awesome to see the Wild clinch a series on home ice like that. Bring on the blackhawks, hopefully things go better this time than the last two years...

I do wish this impacted the draft position more. If both the Blues and Islanders were to lose the first round, it should have made their 1st round picks higher in the order (i.e. better) but I think the NHL changed the rules this year.

So, how much youse guys gonna pay this Dubnyk kid in the off-season? He's UFA, correct?

Yeah, I hope they win too, just to prevent a sweep if nothing else. I'll be at the game tonight too. Loving these 8:30 starts. I know it's about TV but gee, I wonder if the late starts favor the Ducks to any extent. Nah.